North Korean officials tour Vietnam’s Halong Bay

The motorcade carrying US President Donald Trump drives past Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum after US President Donald Trump visited presidential palace in Hanoi, Vietnam on Feb. 27, 2019. AP

HANOI, Vietnam  — North Korean officials have toured Vietnam’s scenic Halong Bay and a nearby industrial site while leader Kim Jong Un spent his second morning in Hanoi inside a hotel preparing for his meetings with US President Donald Trump.

South Korean TV on Wednesday showed a group of North Korean officials, including Ri Su Yong, vice chairman of the party’s central committee, taking a cruise ride along Halong Bay and visiting factories in the port city of Hai Phong.

The group also reportedly included O Su Yong, director of economic affairs at North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. Experts say O’s inclusion in the North’s delegation indicates Kim expects to return home with economic rewards, including partial sanctions relief, following nuclear talks with Trump.

Kim is expected to meet Trump during a dinner meeting later Wednesday. /ee